


Adapting to Parenthood

by madness_on_the_milano



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Team as Family, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-01 20:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14528184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madness_on_the_milano/pseuds/madness_on_the_milano
Summary: Inspired by a great Tumblr post I read about how Guardians of the Galazy Vol.2 was effectively Rocket being Groot's dad. You were righter than you knew and I hope if you're reading this, you enjoy it and accept my apologies for forgetting your name.One-shots revolving around Rocket's new role as a parent and how he gradually learns to accept help from other Guardians when needed.





	1. Chapter 1

 

While Rocket was happy that Groot had recently learned how to grow flowers (no, really, he was _thrilled_ about having little petals everywhere and being yelled at by a tiny tree every time he tried to dispose of them), the pollen was no frickin' joke. And who was presented with flowers more than anyone on board? Him. And if Quill smirked and said it was sweet _one_ more time, he was going to shove the next bunch of flowers up his ass. He pulled off his clothes and stood under the shower, watching the light gold wash from his fur and down the drain. He could hear burbling and opened an eye to see Groot looking up at him. "What?"

"I am Groot!"

"I'll play in a sec. Can't you see I'm busy right now?"

"I am Groot."

"I'm _showering."_ Rocket pointed out. "Get outta here or you'll get wet." Groot made it quite obvious that he didn't care about that. He stepped cautiously in, blinking water out of his eyes and raised his arms. For God's sake. Rocket lifted him up, holding him against his chest and let him wind his little wooden arms around his neck. "I'm going soft and it's all your fault," he muttered. "Come on, let's get you in a towel and I'll finish up."

"I am Groot?"

"Why am I showering? First of all, keeping clean is important so people don't hate you for stinking up their space. Second of all, _someone_ keeps getting pollen everywhere."

"I am Groot?"

"Like you don't know who's to blame. It's you! I know you're excited because you can grow flowers, but they're very messy." Rocket found the small towel and wrapped it around Groot's shoulders. Carefully, he dried under his eyes. "It's good you can grow flowers, but it's not so great when there's pollen everywhere. Don't stop forever, but no more for a few weeks. Is that okay?"

Groot gave a tiny nod and began chewing on the corner of the towel.

That had gone better than Rocket had expected. "Good. Go and get a snack and I'll be done." Rocket waited until Groot had gone before turning his back to the door and resuming the shower. He was just washing behind his ears when he felt a tight pinch on his back, around one of his implants. He froze, knowing who was the one holding the very shiny implant in his hand. "Groot-" Before he could finish the rest of his sentence, Groot pulled. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to make him yell out in pain. "Get off! _Get off!"_

Groot had no idea what he'd done and Rocket was certain he had no idea was the silver studs on his back were or why they were there, but he let go very quickly. He was looking up at him with big frightened brown eyes. "I am Groot."

"Out. Get out now." Pain was growing across his skin and he gritted his teeth. _"Get out of here!"_ As Groot fled, Rocket sank to his knees, pressing his hands against the flow of blood. They would never break, but the flesh surrounding could get damaged by them. He inhaled deeply and blinked as a pair of boots came into view. "Gamora-"

"It's alright, I'm here." Gamora took his hands and helped him stand on a towel. "I know how these things can hurt you."

"Let's start a club."

"Let's not." Gamora kept hold of one of his hands and didn't complain even when he gripped her fingers with all his might as the pain grew. "Can I look?"

He knew he couldn't look properly himself and turned, letting her cast her dark eyes over the damage the scientists at Halfworld had done to him. "It really hurts."

"I know."  Gamora's touch was gentle as she placed something over the cut. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but the wound isn't very big. It will heal quickly."

"He didn't mean to do it. Groot. This was an accident."

"He was scared."

Rocket bowed his head. He'd messed up the first time with his best friend and now he was messing up again with his best friend's baby. What a screw-up he was turning out to be. "I didn't mean to yell at him like that."

"He isn't scared of you."

Rocket turned back to look at Gamora. "He isn't?"

"He was scared because he hurt you. He told us that he thinks you won't like him any more."

"Well, that's stupid."

Gamora rolled her eyes. "He's a _child._ His mind doesn't work like an adult's yet. Nor does yours."

"Hey! Like _you're_ so mature. You don't think I see you smirking every time the Summer of 69 song plays?"

Gamora looked down at him seriously. "You'd better not tell Peter. He'd play it non-stop."

From outside, Rocket could hear Drax talking. It was clear from his gentle tone that he was speaking to Groot and Rocket looked at the door. "Do you think he'll see me?"

"He loves you, Rocket. You know he does. I'll get your clothes and then you are going to see him."

"Did Quill die and make you captain?" Rocket muttered. Fortunately for him, Gamora didn't seem to hear as she walked out. He shook the excess water out of his fur and dried off with the towel. By the time he had finished, his clothes were on the hook and he found a flower in the pants' pocket. He just felt so _bad._ Yeah, he'd been in agony, but he could still see the frightened look in those large brown eyes. But he couldn't stay hiding in here while Groot convinced himself he was the worst person to ever exist. He opened the door and looked around for the sapling. He walked around the Milano until he heard a familiar sound coming from the part of the ship which had been allocated to him. It wasn't big, but it was enough. And there was Groot standing in the exact centre of it. "Hey! You aren't meant to be here alone!"

"I am Groot."

"Okay. Well, next time, you ask people to help you." Rocket stepped towards him, noticing how he anxiously held his fingers tightly together. Ah, shit. Gamora had been right. He _was_ frickin' scared. He knelt in front of him and held open his arms. It didn't take long for Groot to accept the invitation. Rocket just couldn't get over how small he was now. He sometimes wondered if Groot, his best friend, had felt so protective about him. Of course he had. He'd been happy to die to protect him and the others. "Man, Groot, I wish you were here."

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, I know, you _are_ here." Rocket brushed away a droplet of water that had edged its way out of the sapling's eye. "I'm sorry I frightened you by screaming. And I'm really sorry I was dumb enough to think you wouldn't eventually notice the things in my back."

"I am Groot!"

"I know. You didn't realise they were attached to me. It wasn't your fault. Some bad guys hurt me when I was a lot younger and they gave me the shiny metal things in my back because they wanted to see if it made me stronger so I could fight for them."

"I am Groot."

Rocket patted his back, feeling him shake with sobs. "You don't need to be sorry. This was an accident and it's okay. You won't do it again, will you?" In his arms, Groot shook his head. "I'm okay. And you are. That's what matters."

"I am Groot?"

"Oh, we don't worry about those losers." Rocket grinned at the sudden look of shocked horror Groot gave him. "I was kidding! Come on, let's get outta here." He got to his feet, still holding Groot against his chest. His back protested, but he ignored it. No way was he going to let on that he was still in pain. Fortunately, Groot was beginning to relax and yawn. "You tired, buddy?"

"I am Groot." Groot mumbled, pushing his face into Rocket's shoulder.

"Uh-huh. Sure you aren't. No, you're just yawning for fun." And drooling on his shoulder for fun too. "Will you let Gamora take you to bed tonight?" The answer was a wordless mumble, but Rocket chose to take it as a 'yes', finding Gamora at the consoles with Quill. "Gamora? Guess who's ready for bed?"

"Aren't you a little old to be tucked in, Rocket?"

"Go to hell." Rocket said as Gamora reached down for Groot. "Hey, you-" he said as Peter went to the medicine cabinet. "-What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting pain relief for you."

"I'm fine!"

"Liar."

"Jackass. I don't need people doing things. I can do it myself."

"If you think I'm going to let a member of this _family-"_ Peter caught his eye as he handed the pain relief over. "- climb around when they're in so much pain they can hardly walk, you can think again. I know you wouldn't let Groot do it."

"That's _different."_

"Drax and Gamora and _you_ wouldn't let _me_ do it."

Rocket glared at him and swallowed one of the pills. "Dick."

Quill just grinned in that stupid way and made his way back to the console, resting back and looking very relaxed. "I remember when I was a kid, I found one of Yondu's guns and played around with it. I ended up shooting him with it when he came in to stop me."

Rocket started laughing. "Hahaha! I bet he beat the _shit_ out of you for that one!" 

Peter smiled to himself. "Yeah, you'd think. He was yelling too. Kept screaming at me to get the hell out and get some help. I remember being so freaked out and thinking that I was going to be their meal for that night, but when he'd gotten patched up, he coaxed me out of where I was hiding and said he was going to teach me to shoot properly and that it wasn't my fault he was stupid enough to keep his guns out where I could get 'em."

"Is there a point to this story?" Rocket asked. He was _very_ disappointed by the ending.

"Yes. Quit hating yourself for reacting normally to something that hurt. Parents are people too. And right now, you are a parent."

"You should have seen his _face,_ Quill."

"So what? He was a little scared, but you helped him through it, like Yondu used to do for me. He's _fine._ He isn't scared any more."

"Yeah?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. And if he gets scared again, you'll be there."

"It's damn hard, raising a kid."

"It's a hell of a lot harder to raise one alone." Peter looked at him. "I know you didn't have many people, both of you. But you have people now. People who care."

_'Yeah, for_ now.' Rocket thought to himself. "Uh huh."

"Trust us."

"I do trust you! I trust you not to kill me in my sleep. Isn't that good enough?"

"It's a start."

"Nothing frickin' pleases you, does it, Quill?" Rocket stretched out. The pain relief was finally working. "The pain relief, thanks for grabbing it for me."

"That's okay." Peter folded his hands behind his head and looked out on the cosmos. "I know you'd do the same for us." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

It was a good thing both he and Groot were ill with these flarking colds at the same time or they would have been driving each other insane. Suffice to say, Groot was _not_ happy with this new development and neither was Rocket, but at least as an adult, Rocket was used to worse things than sore throats, stuffy heads, non-stop coughing fits and general lethargy. This cold, however, was the _worst_ thing Groot had ever experienced and Rocket had to force himself to keep this in mind to avoid snapping at the young sapling. He felt horrible, but he still forced himself out of bed every time Groot whimpered out of exhaustion or cried for him. He had been the one who had planted the twig, so _he_ would be the one to care for the kid now he was ill. Being ill at the same time was just tough luck on his part.

"I am Groot."

Rocket opened an eye to see Groot's head rested on his pillow and tried to make sense of what Groot had been said. His throat was really hurting again, also he felt very hot and would Daddy Rocket help him? "Hang on," he mumbled. "Gettin' up now..." He sat up, his vision swimming and groaned, closing his eyes, feeling Groot clamber onto his lap. He couldn't be weak, not for him. He could remember his best friend becoming very withered from the heat of six fierce suns on one of the many worlds they had been and how, even when he'd been almost dying, he had fought for Rocket against an army of unfriendlies. He would ignore this minor illness for Groot's son. He grabbed the sapling, pulling him up so he was holding onto his shoulder and began walking to the bathroom for a cloth so he could place something cool on Groot's forehead. The problem was the walls kept shaking and the ground became so blurry that he didn't know where he was putting his feet. He reached to his left, staggered and crouched down, his breathing growing heavy.

"Rocket?"

Quill. Of _course_ it was Quill. Rocket handed him Groot and wheezed out; "He needs his throat mixture."

"Goddammit, man."

"I am Groot?"

"I'm fine, Groot. Peter is going to take care of you."

"No. _Drax_ is going to take care of Groot. I'm going to take care of _you."_

"Beat it, Quill! I take care of myself!" Rocket watched Drax make his way with Groot to the kitchen and started dragging himself back to his room, though he still found the floor too blurry and the walls were still moving around. He felt hands, Quill's hands, on his back and cursed. "Quill, if my feet leave the ground, I will wound you!"

"Got it."

"You'd better have got it." His legs kept wobbling and he tripped over himself several times, but Peter was true to his word and didn't make any attempt to haul him up in the air. Instead, he helped him back up and when they got back to his and Groot's room, he helped him sit on his bed, supporting his back and looked into his eyes. "What are you looking at?"

"Man, you are such a dumbass."

"Kick a guy when he's down, Quill, that's really, _really_ nice!"

"Down? You're not down, Rocket,  you're really, _really_ sick! I can't believe you let yourself get this bad. _Why_ didn't you tell anyone?!"

"I had to take care of Groot-"

"Don't give me that shit! There's Drax, there's Gamora, there's Mantis, there's Kraglin and there's me. _Any_ one of us could have helped with Groot. But, no, you couldn't let us help _you,_ could you?"

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You refuse to let any of us in and I don't get it!"

"No shit. The stuff _you_ don't know is limitless!"

"Is that right?"

"Yes it is! And I am completely fine and don't need anyone's help. Not from Drax, not from Gamora, not from Mantis, not from that degenerate soup addict and most definitely-" Rocket locked eyes with Peter, even though he could barely make him out any more. "-Not. From. You!"

Peter set his jaw and Rocket thought he'd _finally_ won this battle, but instead of storming off or cursing at him, Quill sat down by his bed and brushed a hand over his forehead, like Rocket had been doing for Groot for the past week. "I'm not leaving you. Quit trying to piss me off."

"I couldn't hate you more." Rocket muttered, but he dragged Peter's hand back when he moved it from where it had rested on his brow. He thought he caught sight of Peter rolling his eyes, but he was so damn tired that he couldn't find the energy to snap at him about it. "Groot stays here in this room, got it?"

"Don't worry, no one is going to take him away from you. Can't have you both contaminating the ship."

Rocket sank down onto the mattress, curling on his side, his eyes closing without his permission. He could feel Peter smoothing back the fur on his head and sighed, wishing he was healthy enough to tell Quill to keep his undoubtedly filthy paws to himself. _"Why won't you leave?"_

"I'll tell you later. Get some rest, buddy."

He couldn't even try to go against this order. He slept longer than he had since he and Groot had gotten ill and awoke to see Drax cradling Groot who was looking over at him with wide eyes. Quill was nowhere to be seen. "Drax?"

"Are you rested?"

"Yeah. How is Groot?"

"He is more needy than usual." Drax placed his thumb in the palm of Groot's tiny hand, watching the little wooden fingers wrap themselves around it.  "I forgot how children suffer during the most minor of afflictions."

Rocket had been bristling when Drax had started calling Groot 'needy', but was calmed instantly at the reminder that Drax had been through this before. "Drax...were you and your kid ever ill at the same time?"

"Kamaria and I were only ever ill at the same time. Hovat would help us become healthy again. I probably could have taken care of Kamaria by myself when we were both ill, but Hovat made things simpler and much more pleasant." Drax took his thumb out of Groot's grasp. "I know what it is to be a father. You want to be their sole protector. But you are not Groot's sole protector. You have us."

"Yeah, yeah. Give me the kid, I wanna see how he's doing." Drax passed him down and watched with his arms crossed over his chest as Groot burbled away to Rocket about what he had been doing that day. It amounted to lots of sleeping and lots of soup and the highlight of the day had been when Peter had not only let him choose a song, but had allowed him to hold the Zune - a rare privilege. Rocket sat up, his pillow supporting his back and held the young sapling close to his chest. "Glad you're feeling better."

"I am Groot?"

"Me? I'm great. Never been better."

"I am Groot."

"Daddy Peter is a lying little bitch."

"Quill is not a dog, Rocket."

"Drax, get out of here." Rocket rubbed circles into the bark on Groot's back and pulled a button out of his mouth. "Don't eat that, it's cold and gross and you'll choke on it."

"You're awake!" Quill greeted, nudging the door open with his foot. In his hand, he held two bowls, one big and one tiny. "Guess what I got!"

"Booze."

"No! Soup."

Groot was delighted. Rocket looked up at the ceiling and wished himself anywhere but this ship. He was surrounded by soup addicts. First Kraglin, then Quill and now Groot. "He can have mine."

"He can not. Come on, it'll help!"

"I am Groot!"

"Fine!" Rocket snapped. "Quill, I hope he drops it on your crotch."

"My junk is so big, I wouldn't even notice."

"No one wants junk, Quill. Especially not yours." Rocket accepted his bowl and looked at it uncertainly. It smelled okay and after licking the tiniest amount off the spoon, it tasted okay too and he finished the bowl shortly before Groot finished his.

"Did you like it? I made it."

"Oh no," Rocket groaned, clutching his heart. "I'm dying!"

"Shut up." Peter took the bowl and started laughing at Groot who had gotten his bowl stuck on his face.

"Don't be an asswipe, Quill, how would you like it?" Rocket eased the bowl off Groot's face and licked his thumb to get the remains off. "Why were you doin' that?"

"I am Groot!" Groot explained, wriggling as Rocket got rid of the soup traces.

"I like the taste of liquor, but you don't see me sticking my head into a bottle." Sapling clean, he tucked the blanket from his bed around him, feeling his tiny body rest against his fur.

"How better do you feel now you've rested properly and eaten?"

"I don't feel any different."

"You are the most stubborn raccoon I've ever met!"

"You call me a raccoon again and I'll toss Groot in the air until he barfs on you."

"What about when he gets bigger?"

"I'll get Drax to do it."

"Why do you _always_ involve Drax in your plans against me?"

"He's willing and does what he's told. Mostly." Groot stirred in his arms and he pulled the blanket away so he could move more freely. He looked at him, properly, noticing how much healthier he looked now. "Guess I was a little sick."

Peter seemed to accept that this was all the confession he would get and nodded. "Yeah. You were."

"To survive where I came from, you _had_ to be healthy." Rocket looked Peter in the eyes. "Do you understand?"

Peter's eyes widened as he grasped what Rocket was implying. "Oh. Yeah, I do."

"I made up stuff to Drax about how it was because I wanted to be the one to care for Groot. And, yeah, that is true, but every time I sneeze, there's a moment when I think someone in a white coat is going to drag me off to be euthanised. That's why I hid it."

"It's gonna take you a long time to get over that, isn't it?"

"I don't know if that's possible." Rocket looked down at Groot again. "I don't want him to be like that. I want him to know he's safe and doesn't need to hide shit from us."

"Rocket, he learns from you more than he learns from anyone. You're kind of his mom."

Rocket stared at him. "I am not his _mom!_ I didn't give birth to him!"

"You grew him in a pot! You watered him, you played him music, you spread shi-"

"What's _that_ got to do with anything?"

"You gave him life!"

"Newsflash, Star-prick, dudes can do that too!" Rocket huffed to himself.  _"Groot's mom._ He doesn't call me Mommy, does he?"

"No, but he calls you 'Daddy' and that's the same thing."

"So, why didn't you say I was 'kind of' his _dad,_ you dickmunch?"

"Because you're very matern-I don't know," Peter said, appropriately concerned at the death glare Rocket gave him. "I don't know why, but he learns from you the most. You can't deny that."

"How do I teach him something _I_ don't know?"

"You learn," Peter said softly.

"Groot was the only one who ever helped me."

"Rocket, Groot was once the only person who ever loved you. This little guy adores you and the rest of us love you too." Peter touched the tiny wooden hand poking at the top of the blanket. "You remember when I had the cold you guys have now?"

"Yes. You were a truly pathetic sight."

"I seem to remember you reading to me from Groot's storybooks."

"No. Groot was sitting by you and he wanted a story, so I gave him one."

"You brought me soup."

"That was Kraglin."

"Now I _know_ you're lying!" Peter said triumphantly. 

"Augh! You know what? Fine. I brought you soup, I read to you, I even made sure you could hear your krutackin' music! What the hell does it matter anyways?"

"Because it shows that however closed-off you are, you care for us as much as we care for you."

"That much, huh?"

"Yeah, that much." Peter rubbed his nose. "For the record, I never was the greatest fan of The Giving Tree."

"You ungrateful monster. How can you not love that book? It's beautiful. Even when Groot's big again, I'll still be reading it."

"Can I read it to you?"

Rocket was about to say 'no', but Groot stirred again in his arms, his tiny thumb going into his mouth. If he wasn't careful, Groot would grow up to be just like him, not letting anyone help him, not trusting people as well as he should and pushing away the ones he loved when he needed them most. He nodded his head and gently removed Groot's thumb from his mouth, wiping it on the blanket. "Okay. If you want."

It was all Peter was going to get for the timebeing and he seemed to accept that easily enough. He found the book on the little shelf and sat by the bed again. "Once, there was a tree..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me Peter didn't track down a copy of Giving Tree as a gift for Groot, only for Rocket to fall head-over-arse in love with the story and I simply shan't believe you.  
> Giving Tree belongs to Shel Silverstein obviously.


End file.
